Lost in the Clouds
by Undoing
Summary: Cloud Strife dedicated his life to finding and defeating Sephiroth, but his life changed when he received the Keyblade.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of it's characters. If I did, you'd all be playing KH3 instead of reading fanfiction. And I'd be rich. ;P **

**P.S. Cloud is dressed as he was in KH1**

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><p>He felt a deep falling sensation, like he was dropping from a very high place, and not reaching the bottom. Though his eyes were closed, he sensed that there was nothing around him, just a mysterious abyss... He felt himself suddenly upright, his feet hitting ground with a slight thud.<p>

Cloud Strife opened his eyes, and saw black. Black darker than night; as dark as shadow. He took a step, and there was a bright flash of light. But it wasn't light, it was a giant flock of doves. His eyes widened slightly, for he hadn't seen the birds since Radiant Garden was taken over. Once the birds flew away, a bright light glowed from the floor. A large mosaic, like the ones on windows, was revealed. It showed a woman as pale as snow, in a yellow-and-blue dress eating an apple, with the heads of seven bearded men surrounding her. He glanced at it, and began walking around. He had to get out of wherever he was, so he could complete his mission.

_So much to do...So little time...Take your time..._

Cloud stopped dead in his tracks. The voice had seemed to come out of everywhere, yet at the same time, nowhere.

_Don't be afraid. The door is still shut. Now step forward. Can you do it?_

_ But I just did_, he though, but obliged nonetheless. The sooner he got out of this place, the better.

He walked towards the center of the mosaic, and waited.

_Power sleeps within you...If you give it form..._

As soon as the voice spoke, bright light surrounded him, and three items appeared. One was a small sword, way smaller than the Buster Sword, and had a small icon at the handle: two circles, both tilted towards the sides, on top or a slightly bigger circle. Cloud recognized the icon, but could not, at the moment, remember where he had seen it. A small shield and a staff with the same symbols (one on the middle and one on the top, respectively) also appeared.

_...It will give you strength. Choose wisely._

Almost instinctively, he reached for the sword, but paused. Instead, he walked towards the shield.

_The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the power you seek?_

He thought for a moment, and decided to view the sword before he chose.

_The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the power you seek?_

Cloud nodded. _I need more power to defeat...him._ The sword disappeared with a flash of light, but, strangely, the light was being absorbed by him.

_Your path is set. Now...what will you give up in exchange?_

He walked up to the staff, thinking he would not need it.

_The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. You give up this power?_

He nodded again. The staff disappeared, but some light had left himself, unlike what happened with the sword.

_You have chosen the power of the warrior. You've given up the power of the mystic. Is this the form you choose?_

Cloud sighed and nodded, wishing this would end. At that moment, the floor broke beneath him, and he fell, once again, the same way as before, except much faster. This time, he saw the ground before he hit it: another mosaic, this time, with a blonde girl wearing a glittery blue dress, and a man and a white shoe surrounded her.

Suddenly, the sword he had picked appeared by his side, and so did the voice.

_You gained the power to fight. Take a swing._

He gave a light snort, for he had fought millions of times, verses Heartless, and evils greater than them. He swung the sword around.

_Alright! You got it._

Cloud smiled smugly, and was slightly surprised the voice showed enthusiasm.

_ Use this power to protect yourself and others._ _There will be times when you have to fight._

Suddenly, shadows not his own surrounded Cloud, and grew to the form of a Heartless; more specifically, Shadows.

_Keep your light burning strong._

Cloud didn't need to be told twice. He slashed and hacked through the Heartless like butter, and they evaporated into a dark cloud, until...

_Behind you!_

He turned around and cut through the one behind himself. He ran towards the last one, but suddenly, it ran off. He was surprised, since Heartless don't usually run away. But he would no longer have to wonder, for the ground began erupting into darkness, until this feet gave away, and he started sinking. But he wasn't panicked, for in multiple dreams, he had experienced this sensation of drowning in darkness, and he knew he would be waking up soon. But he didn't, and the darkness suffocated him. He tried to raise his hand, and grab something, but there was nothing to grab on.

He remembered Sephiroth, and thought about what he'd say if he was here. _Finally joining the darkness where you belong, Cloud?_

He tried to scream in anger, but the darkness covered his mouth, and soon covered his whole face, until all he saw was darkness.

Once he opened his eyes, Cloud saw that the darkness disappeared, and he was on another platform. This one had three hearts, each with a silhouette of a girl, whom he vaguely remembered. Looking up, he saw a giant door, in the middle of the platform. He looked behind it, but there was nothing.

With nothing else to do, he tried to push open the door. _It won't budge. _Sighing, he looked around, and noticed something he didn't before. A treasure chest. He walked up to it and opened it, only to find it empty. Suddenly, right beside it, a small wooden box appeared suddenly. He smashed it, and found only splinters.

But at that moment, he heard a slight creaking noise behind him. Turning around, he saw that the door he was trying to open was opening. Bright light enveloped the area, and soon, he was transported to a small store, where he saw three very familiar people: Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith. _Am I back...?_he thought, until the voice spoke once again.

_Hold on. The door won't open just yet. First, tell me about yourself._

Cloud sighed. _It still isn't over. _He decided to continue obliging, just to have the dream end faster. He walked up to Yuffie, and asked her casually, even though he knew it was, "What's up?"

"What's most important to you?"she asked, completely ignoring his previous question.

He sighed, and answered. "Protecting the ones I love."

"Is it really that important?"she asked, keeping a blank stare on her face, and turned away, as he walked to Leon, who asked him, "What do you want outta life?"

"...Happiness and satisfaction."

"Huh,"Leon grunted, and he walked away, leaving a clear path to the final person: Aerith.

"What are you afraid of?"she asked him, with a pleasant smile.

"The darkness."

"Inside your heart?"she asked, with the same plastic smile. Her response surprised Cloud, but he had no time to respond, for the voice started up again:

_You're afraid of the darkness; you want happiness and satisfaction; you want to protect the ones you love. As long as there is light, and the sun is shining, your journey should be a pleasant one._

"Do you just repeat what I do?"Cloud asked to no one in particular. "And I seriously doubt my journey will be easy."

The voice ignored him, and instead said:

_The day you open the door is both far off and very near._

_Riddles much?_Cloud thought, and his view turned dark once again. His vision reappeared on a new platform, with a girl in a pink dress, surrounded by thorns and three fairies.

Before Cloud could even move, Shadows appeared, along with his new sword. He quickly slashed through them, until they all disappeared, and a small white orb appeared. It moved up and forward, closer to a faraway platform, creating glass stairs as it went.

He ran up the stairs, and walked onto the platform, showing a brunette girl wearing a bright yellow dress, surrounded by a strange looking beast, a rose, a candlestick, a small grandfather clock, and a tea set.

He ignored the strange picture, and instead focused on the white light that stood at the middle of the platform.

_The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes._

Cloud's heart nearly stopped at the last statement, and he quickly turned around, expecting to see Sephiroth. What he did see was just as bad. His shadow started rising from behind him, and it turned into the form of a gigantic heartless; big yellow eyes, claws as sharp as swords, crazy hair that looked more like tentacles. In short, a Darkside heartless.

_But don't be afraid...And don't forget..._

Cloud was prepared to fight it, but for some reason, he felt as though all of his experience had disappeared. He managed to lock on to the beast's right hand, and maimed it, even as it started creating a giant purple orb. The orb raised above the giant, and sent smaller orbs towards him, but he managed to dodge them and attack. The Darkside called out for shadows, and they began to attack it's enemy. But he didn't care; he kept his eyes on the main enemy.

But even with all of Cloud's fighting skills, he was no match for the Heartless, until it slammed it's fist into the ground, and created a small wormhole, and had left it's defenses wide open. He sliced his arm off, and it roared in anger. But it still hadn't died. He jumped back, and, suddenly, his weapon disappeared.

"What?"Cloud gasped, and jumped away, just before the Darkside tried to grab him. He wasn't so lucky the second time, for when he jumped, he landed on a patch of darkness, like the one that formed last time. He couldn't move, and the dark patch began to grow tentacles, grabbing him and pulling him down, as they spread all across the platform.

The Darkside stood there, and raised itself.

_But don't be afraid. You hold the mightiest weapon of all_.

The voice echoed in his ears, as his torso was being crushed by the darkness. _Can't... breathe..._he managed to think.

_So don't forget..._

The giant Heartless began to fall on him, and the last thing Cloud heard was:

_You are one of the ones...that will open the door._

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><p>He gasped, as he drew the Buster Swords from his bedside. When he saw no one was in his room, he sighed.<p>

Cloud Strife had left his friends in Radiant Garden to find his one and only nemesis, Sephiroth. Years ago, Cloud had partaking in a series of gruesome experiments, involving him being separated into light and dark. When the final experiment took place, Sephiroth was created. Since then, he went along the universe, destroying worlds, as Cloud went and searched for him, claiming that since he created him, he must destroy him.

He has had many dreams involving Sephiroth, and darkness, but none as vivid and strange as the last one. He shook his head and thought about the dream. It was a strange one, and the more he thought about it, the less he remembered. All he knew was that he was engulfed in darkness.

Currently, Cloud was on the world of Destiny Islands, a beautiful paradise. But Cloud wasn't here to relax. He got up, and washed his face. He heard tropical bird noises, and the laughter of children.

Once he was done preparing, he got up, and went towards the islands. It was evening, and most of the children were back at home. He noticed three kids, a silvered hair boy, a redhead girl, and a brunette boy sitting at a bench-like palm tree, watching the sunset.

He walked to a wilder part of the island, and found a small cave. Inside were small drawings made by some small children. But what piped his interest, was the mysterious door. He had a sneaking suspicion what the door held, and tried to open it. "Crap, it won't open,"he muttered.

_It won't open..._

He blinked. _Where did that come from? _Pushing the thought out of his mind, Cloud decided to come back tomorrow, when it was brighter, and he had more time. As he walked back, once he got to the city, he heard a distant rumble. Turing around, he saw a strange dark purple-ish cloud coming closer to the island.

He gasped, for he knew that was no ordinary cloud. He ran back to the islands.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading! If you like it, review! If you really like it, review and favorite! If you are in awe of it, review, favorite, and alert it! Yay! I'll update when I have time!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

_ Heartless: Dark beings, taking on many forms, created when a person looses their heart. They are very nimble creatures, but mostly harmless when alone. If Heartless join together, they can cause massive destruction, most commonly under the guise of a storm cloud, and even destroy worlds. Though this rarely occurs, Heartless are easily controllable, and, under the wrong influence, their powers can amount up to unbelievable heights._

Cloud rushed passed countless palm trees, making his way towards the main island, with the help of his singular wing. Once he got close enough to the shore, he could see the purple clouds above him, swirling, causing the leaves of the trees to rustle uncontrollably. By the small dock, he saw three small boats, large enough to only carry one person at a time.

_Why would anyone be coming to the beach during a storm like this?_, he thought to himself. But he could not continue to ponder, for he suddenly felt as though a thousand tiny claws were scratching his legs. Looking down, he saw a dozen Heartless clawing at his feet.

Groaning, Cloud reached for his Buster Sword, behind his back. But when his hands reached the red cloth behind him did he realize what happened: He didn't have his blade. He gave a slight gasp. _Did I bring it with me? Of course I did, but did someone steal it? Oh, why didn't I check!_

Instead of attacking the horde of Heartless, he dodged them, rolling in the sand, and tried to make his way towards the tiny cave with the mysterious doors. Suddenly, he came across a large plateau, overlooking the now-raging sea, where two kids stood, arguing. He hid in some nearby bushes, and listened to what they were saying.

"Riku? Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!" one of the boys tentatively asked. Cloud recognized him as the brunette boy he saw with the girl and the silver haired boy.

"The door,"replied the other boy. "...has opened..."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. _What did this boy know about the door?_

The brown-haired boy also looked confused. "What?"

The boy, Riku, who had sounded so calm before, turned around suddenly, with a slightly crazed look in his eyes. "The door has opened, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!"

Watching closely, Cloud realized the boy reminded him of someone. _But who?_

"What are you talking about?" the boy apparently called Sora retaliated. "We gotta find Kairi!"

"Kairi's coming with us,"responded Riku, mysteriously. The crazed look was now more apparent on his face. His voice seemed to be trembling, out of excitement.

Sora was trembling, too, but mostly out of fear. He started to take a step back. When realizing Sora wasn't going to respond, Riku continued, "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again." Riku turned to look above himself, where a glowing orb floated. His voice began to falter.

"There's no turning back...But this may be our only chance..."he said, regaining strength. "We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

_Darkness..._

The boy returned his gaze towards Sora; his face gave away the hint of a smile. Riku outstretched his hand towards his friend. That was when Cloud remembered: The maniacal gleam, the calm features, no fear of darkness, the ominous outstretched hand... This boy was almost exactly like Sephiroth. He was turning towards the power of darkness.

_But if he's darkness, then who is light? The other boy?_

Cloud did not have to wait long for his answer. Black pools of darkness began forming around their feet. While Riku remained calm, his hand still there, inviting Sora, the other boy began to struggle, as black tentacles began forming around his legs, sucking him in.

Cloud suddenly jumped out of his hiding place, and ran towards the darkness that was sucking in Sora. He grabbed the boy's shaking hand, and began to pull him out, but to no avail; the darkness began drowning them both.

He continuously struggled, keeping a tight grip on the boy's hand.

_I can't die like this! I still have to find Sephiroth! I have to undo the mistakes I made! I can't leave just yet!_

Suddenly, he felt the handle of a weapon clenched in his free hand. He swung it around, and suddenly, a bright light enveloped both of the boys. They soon found themselves standing in the same area where the darkness had appeared. Cloud let go of Sora's hand and began to examine his new weapon. It took the appearance of a tumbler lock key, with bandages around the blade by the handle. Where his fingers were clenched was a small pipe-like red metal, with a large metal square protecting the hand. At the end of the square was a small key chain, in the shape of a wolf's head. Behind it, in small, but legible handwriting, was written the words "Fenrir".

_Was this weapon's name "Fenrir"? What kind of weapon is this?_

A small gust of wind blew, and he heard it: The nameless voice. It repeated the same word, over and over again, until it finally disappeared. The words rang in Cloud's ears.

_Keyblade..._

_ Keyblade..._

_ Keyblade..._

Suddenly, Cloud felt something tap his elbow. He swung around, holding the weapon inches away from Sora's nose. Sora took a couple of steps back, as Cloud lowered the weapon. He noticed that the boy was also carrying a weapon similar to his own.

"I'm sorry if I freaked you out, but I just wanted to thank you for saving me. By the way, who exactly _are _you, anyway?"Sora asked politely.

Cloud did not answer his question, and instead replied, "You better be getting home. This isn't safe."

Sora shook his head. "I can't I gotta find Kairi. She's probably at the Secret Place. Can you help me find her?"

Cloud sighed, then nodded. "Okay, I'll help."

The young boy smiled. "Great, let's go! Follow me!" But, before they could even get out of the plateau, Heartless surrounded the small duo. Cloud was the first to swing his weapon, killing at least a dozen Heartless in the process. Sora swiped at a Shadow tentatively, but soon got a hang at it, and was able to fend off most of them.

Finally, they reached the cave, but there was a slight bump in the road: The opening was guarded by a large door, similar to the door Cloud saw in his dream. Sora went up to the handle, and tried to pull it, but the door didn't move. Cloud raised his weapon, but before he struck the door down, it opened on it's own.

"Huh. That saved us time," he muttered under his breath. The two of them continued onward, until they came across the opening. A young girl was standing in front of them, turned around.

"Kairi!"Sora exclaimed.

She turned around slowly. Her skin seemed drained of color, and there were dark lines underneath her eyes.

"Sora...,"she managed to groan. Her voice seemed void of life. Suddenly, her sickly eyes widened in fear.

The wooden door behind her burst open, and all of hell broke loose. A large gust of wind pushed towards them; Cloud managed to protect them both, using his keyblade. When he lifted his weapon, Kairi was falling down, into the open arms of Sora. It had seemed as f she was going to be fine... that is, until she disappeared.

"What!"he gasped. Before they could assess the situation, they were blown out of the room. Cloud struck the ground with Fenrir, and managed to get up, and tried to get a good look at his surroundings, until he realized: _What surroundings?_

He had been too late: The entire world of Destiny Islands had been destroyed, all but this one small speck of land he and Sora were on. Above himself, was a giant vortex-like orb, sucking in the remains of the world. Debris flew around it, like food around a toddler's mouth. Suddenly, out from the vortex, came a giant Heartless.

Sora suddenly appeared by his side, keyblade at hand. "That's the same monster from my dream!" he yelled. Cloud nodded. "A Darkside heartless."

They began to fight, attacking the monster's legs first, then the hand. But before they could smite the monster down, a ominous wind began to pick up, and the vortex took the monster back inside it's mysterious grip, and soon, the rest of the island with it.

Clutching onto a nearby tree, Cloud and Sora exchanged a look, and before either of them could scream, they were sucked in, and darkness took over.


End file.
